No suspects arrested as rapes, robberies continue
By Wendell Mobley
Staff Writer
A string of possibly related incidents of violent crime on or near the university continues to lengthen with no suspects in custody.
At approximately 11:20 a.m. Monday, a male suspect allegedly accosted a woman with a knife. Lt. Gary Rus of University Security said. The victim was reportedly sitting in her car parked on the second level of Parking Structure B when the suspect opened her .car door, pointed a knife at her and told her to move over.
The victim apparently grabbed the blade of the knife and slightly cut her finger. The suspect then backed away from the car and walked out of the structure. Rus said.
The suspect was described as a clean-shaven, black male between 20 and 25 years of age, dressed in light-colored pants and a bright blue ski jacket.
Detective David Hudson of the Los Angeles Police Department, Southwest Division, said 10 to 15 incidents in the university vicinity, ranging from attempted robbery and attempted rape to kidnap and rape, are possibly linked.
“We've got (a composite description of) a guy in his early to mid-20s . . . who's black with a light complexion,” Hudson said. The suspect usuallv wears a bright blue ski vest and uses a knife.
The suspect’s primary victims are lone females in isolated places such as parking lots. Past incidents usually have occurred when the victim enters her car. Hudson explained.
The detective said the Police Department has experienced difficulty in tying the cases together because the suspect or suspects operate in different parts of the city instead of one isolated area.
Another reason the Police Department has been reluctant to make the connection is because the same type of crime is being committed by more than one suspect, Hudson said. It seems to be a matter of “one guy teaching other guys,” the detective said. Another problem, he said, is that the victims give varying descriptions of the suspects.
Hudson said the suspects’ crimes have usually involved robbery and are sex-oriented.
Monday’s incident was the fifth reported to University Security since last Wednesday.
•	In perhaps the most serious incident reported during the week, a student was kidnapped Thursday from Parking Structure B. taken to an empty garage and raped, a member of University Security reported.
Sgt. Hermin Aviles of University Security said a young male forced the victim into her car at knife point at 1:30 p.m. Another suspect also entered the car before the pair took her to an empty garage in an alley.
The victim was “roughed up in the process” of being raped by both suspects. Aviles said.
The victim said the abductors fled when three males in their late teens appeared on the scene.
Aviles said the incident possessed a “strong superficial resemblance” to many attempted kidnap and robbery cases occurring near or in university parking structures in recent weeks.
Staff photo by Pam Veasey
ARCH OF TRADITION — This view from Bovard combines Tommy Trojan, traditionally a symbol of pride, with a student population which must face the modern day fears and trials of university life.
JFK assassination theories scrutinized
By Mark Grabow
Staff Writer
An expert in the study of assassinations said Monday he is perplexed by the government’s stance regarding the shooting of President John F. Kennedy.
“The thing so remarkable to me about the Kennedy assassination is that the official government position (determined) it was a conspiracy," said Bob Katz, founder and president of the Assassination Information Bureau in Washington which has conducted studies into the shootings of John F. Kennedy. Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
Katz, who is also a reporter for a feature paper in Boston, gave a presentation entitled “Who Killed JFK?” Using rare photos taken at the scene of the assassination as well as the highly praised and conclusive Zapruder film, he conducted an in-depth session concerning the investigation, controversy, conspiracy and rumors surrounding Kennedy's assassination.
Both curious students and Kennedy	assassina-
tion/conspiracy experts attended the presentation, which, as Katz said, "wouldn't be necessary if the Kennedy investigation were taught at universities.
“Assassinations are a different means of looking at history.” he said. "If we are talking about what's happening politically, assassinations are the cutting edge.”
Katz stressed that the Kennedy investigation is now officially closed, as “the case stands in limbo right now. To close it now is to say the last word was conspiracy. I don’t think people believe the Reagan administration will continue investigation.”
The Zapruder film, which graphically documents the Kennedy assassination in Dallas, became the key piece of evidence that suggested bullets were fired from more than just one location. The film was
purchased by Life magazine for $250,000, but was not disclosed to the public until several years later. As Katz put it, “The film functions like a sequence of events.”
Before showing the slides and film, he explained pertinent information and the status of the case:
—	Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald on Nov. 22, 1963. Oswald was then gunned down by Jack Ruby, the owner of a Dallas strip tease club, before he could stand trial.
—	President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the Warren Commission, which concluded
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trojan
Volume XCI Number
2.
University of Southern California
Tuesday, October 27, 1981
METHODS STILL PRIMITIVE
Quake prediction 50 years away
By George Aguilar
Staff Writer
The two earthquakes that jolted Los Angeles Friday could not have been predicted by scientists, and accurate predictions may not be possible for at least 50 years if ever, according to a university geology professor.
“We are groping in the dark,” Thomas Henyey said, in assessing the current capabilities of accurate earthquake prediction.
Henyey made those timely comments Friday afternoon in a discussion on “The Science of Earthquake Prediction," before 40 engineering students
Tradition defended by fraternity
Branding seen as mark of loyalty
By Sara Reeder
Assistant Feature Editor
It is evening, two weeks after the initiation of eight new Omega Psi Phi pledges. Fraternity members gather at the home of one of the brothers for the weekly meeting.
Six of the eight new members look particularly apprehensive tonight. Although they are now full-fledged members of the fraternity, these men have chosen to follow a tradition as old as the organization. Tonight they will receive a mark that will identify them as Omega brothers for the rest of their lives.
A branding iron in the shape of the Greek letter omega, made years ago by a member who was handy in metal shop, is heated over a fire until it glows white hot. One by one, the six men are branded in the right arm or on the left side of the chest. Some will eventually carry the brand in both places.
Omega Psi Phi, a predominantly black fraternity, was
founded in 1911 and has been on the university campus since 1923. The university chapter includes students from Cal State Los Angeles, Long Beach, Dominguez Hills and UCLA as well.
'It takes about a month for one (brand) to heal up ... it doesn 't hurt at all. A lot of people are attracted to Omega oecause of the brand. ’
According to a recently passed state law, hazing is defined as “pre-initiation or initiation rites which are likely to cause bodily danger, physical harm, personal degradation or disgrace resulting in mental or physical harm.”
“Omega does not condone hazing and does not participate in physical abuse of its pledges,” said Alan Jones, president of the university chapter. "Pledging is inconvenient— but it’s not abuse.”
Jones acknowledged that there is some pressure during initiation to take the brand, but he denies that it constitutes hazing. “The brand is not part of initiation. Not all members choose to do it . . . about 80 percent of our undergraduate members choose to participate in this tradition.
“It’s an act of recognition,” he said. “It's to recognize a brother when you meet a brother.” Jones said that Omega chapters across the country have branded members.
“(Branding) is not a part of Omega history . . . we at National did not initiate it,” said Greeley Marshall, assistant national executive director of Omega Psi Phi. However, he confirmed that
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and faculty members at the Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center.
The prediction of Friday’s temblors, whose epicenters were near that of the Sept. 4 earthquake, was impossible because they were offshore quakes and scientists did not have detection units in that area, Henyey said.
“We were as surprised as you were,” he said. “To a large extent, the science of earthquake prediction is in the pseudo-stage. We still have 50 years to go to make meaningful scientific predictions.”
Until then, he said, it is difficult to take predictions of this city’s impending doom from a major earthquake seriously.
Henyey did say, however, that geological and statistical information indicates a major earthquake will hit along the San Andreas fault within the next 50 years. There is a consistent cycle of a major quake every 150 years somewhere along the San Andreas fault, and the last severe tremor along the fault hit 125 years ago. Throughout history, the 150-year cycle has deviated slightly, so scientists fully expect activity along the longest fault line in California in the near future.
The United States only recently began to view earthquake prediction as an important area of study. A program started in 1965 currently receives $30 to $50 million a year. That funding, however, is in serious trouble because of the Reagan administration’s budget cuts.
There are currently two (Continued on page 6)
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